Efecto de tres modalidades de crioterapia sobre la temperatura de la piel durante las fases de enfriamiento y recalentamiento

introduction: cryotherapy is useful in the management of muscle-skeletal injuries, due to the effects of tissue cooling; however, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of diferents forms of cryotherapy to maintain cooling after application and the effects of post-cooling activity on the recovery on the skin temperature. objectives: to compare the effects of three modalities of cryotherapy on the skin temperature (st) and its variation during the rewarming, under two different activities. methods: an experimental study with 36 subjects randomly allocated to either three groups: crushed ice pack (ci), massage with ice (mi) or ice-water immersion (wi), these modalities were applied for 15min in the calf. subsequently each group was subdivided randomly in: rest or gait followed by rest. for the analysis a paired student's t test and anova for repeated measurements were applied with α=0.05. results: the three modalities decreased skin temperature, with a greater effect caused by mi (-27.6°c). during rewarming the three groups increased temperature, regardless the activity post-cooling (p <0.0001). the st recovery was minor in the wi group. only the group that received ci and the rewarming was walking followed by rest, reached the initial st. conclusions: the three modalities decreased skin temperature but the mi showed the greatest cooling on st, however the wi maintained by major time this decreasing during the rewarming without influence of activity. salud uis 2011; 43 (2): 119-129